Younis Khan picked in Pak ODI squad

Younis Khan has been picked in a squad of 17 players for the Pakistan team's ODI series against Australia. However, he will not be leading the side as Mohammad Yousuf will continue to be captain while Shahid Afridi will be the vice-captain.

Younis had taken a break following an ODI series defeat against New Zealand, following the familiar tale of player unrest within the team with the captain. He then disappeared from view for a while, before coming back into the public eye while attending a PCB coaching clinic in Lahore. He subsequently batted in domestic cricket, but did not exhibit great form, scoring just 11 runs in two innings for Habib Bank Limited in the Quaid-E-Azam Trophy.

Following the Pakistan batsmen's capitulation in the Test series, current skipper Mohammad Yousuf had sent out an SOS for the immediate inclusion of Younis Khan. However, the PCB shot down the idea, though they said Younis would be considered for the ODI series.

The other notable picks in the ODI squad are Kamran Akmal - whose wicketkeeping ability has been under a cloud ever since his butter-fingered display in the Sydney Test. Interestingly, Sarfraz Ahmed - Kamran's replacement in the third Test - has also been picked in the ODI side. Rao Iftikhar anjum and Rana Naved ul Hasan also made their way into the squad as did batsman Khalid Latif.

Pakistan have also announced their squad for the Twenty20 internationals; Afridi will lead the side and the batting will be boosted by the inclusion of the attacking opener Imran Nazir.